Alarmed by the Bush administration's loosening of restrictions on FBI surveillance, the American Civil Liberties Union wants state Attorney General Bill Lockyer to prevent spying on political dissidents in California.

In an open letter to Lockyer this week, leaders of the ACLU's three California chapters urged him to enforce the state's constitutional right to privacy, adopted by the voters in 1972. The first ruling to interpret it, a unanimous state Supreme Court decision in 1975, said an alleged program of undercover police surveillance in classes and political meetings at UCLA was "government snooping in the extreme" and grounds for a lawsuit.

"California has drawn a line with respect to privacy, political and associational rights that government must not cross even with the best of intentions," the ACLU letter said. "Yet, some of the intelligence practices now openly encouraged by the new federal guidelines cross that long-standing state line."

U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft announced guidelines May 30 that allow FBI agents to conduct surveillance in places open to the public -- including houses of worship, libraries, political meetings and Internet sites -- without specific evidence that those being watched have committed or are planning to commit crimes.

The plan provoked a wide range of public reaction, including a statement from the ACLU's New York headquarters calling the guidelines a threat to "core civil liberties guaranteed under the Constitution and Bill of Rights."

The guidelines repealed rules imposed in 1976 under President Gerald Ford that allowed FBI surveillance only during criminal investigations after some evidence of wrongdoing. President Bush said that those restrictions gave terrorists "a competitive advantage," and pledged that the FBI's new powers would not be used to stifle speech or dissent.

In the letter to Lockyer, the ACLU asked the state attorney general to advise state and local police agencies that they were bound by California's strict privacy law even when working with federal agents.

In addition, although the FBI is not bound by state laws, Lockyer "should at least strongly encourage" federal agents to abide by California privacy rights when gathering intelligence in the state, the ACLU leaders said. They added that if the FBI balks, the state should be wary about using any evidence FBI agents gather, which may be tainted and inadmissible in court.

The ACLU cited The Chronicle's disclosure last month that the FBI had spied on student activists at the University of California in the 1960s and campaigned to remove UC President Clark Kerr. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., later referred to the Chronicle investigation in a letter to FBI Director Robert Mueller asking for assurances that agents would not use the new guidelines to go after political dissidents.

Lockyer's office promised a prompt reply, and said it was complying with state law in its post-Sept. 11 anti-terrorism projects, including the establishment of an information-sharing central database accessible to local, state and federal law enforcement.

"We have no intention of trampling Californians' privacy," said spokeswoman Hallye Jordan. "We were addressing their concerns when we were setting up our terrorism unit and will continue to do so."

Jordan said the new database, called the California Anti-Terrorism Information Center, includes only the names of people who are suspected of terrorism-related crimes, or are being investigated for involvement in such crimes, based on specific evidence.

The center is being overseen by a 14-member group appointed by Gov. Gray Davis and composed of state officials and local sheriffs and police chiefs. It was established Sept. 25 in response to Ashcroft's request for states to create counterterrorism task forces.